Review: Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is full of brain teasing puzzles

Even in my 40s, I’m a sucker for a good kids movie or video game. I remain a kid at heart and unabashedly shed a tear every time I watch Finding Nemo and get my Force geek on whenever I fire up an episode of The Clone Wars with my own monkeys.

And when reviewing games, I try to bring a kids wants and needs into the equation, as well as a parent’s view. Adults who review children’s games as if they’re reviewing Spartacus are, in my opinion, well, out of touch.

It’s always a pleasure as a reviewer and a parent to find a game that will entertain the younglings while satisfying the adult need to know that your child is doing something besides killing hours with a title that offers little in terms of redeeming value beyond sheer entertainment.

Layton and his apprentice, Luke, as well as his assistant Emmy, embark on a mysterious journey to a desert world in search of an old friend. They discover the locals being threatened by the Masked Gentleman, a baddie who wears the Mask of Chaos, a device that can turn people into stone.

You are tasked with solving the mystery of Mask of Chaos (which involves playable flashback sequences) and saving the town and citizens from the masked fiend.

You do this by solving some seriously difficult puzzles that will test the creativity and brain power of anyone who picks up this one up. Yes, it can occasionally get frustrating, but they are not so onerous that you will quit the game in exasperation. And there are hints that you can use to solve them if you truly get stuck.

Miracle Mask makes excellent use of the 3DS platform, creating a more engaging storytelling and puzzle-solving experience thanks to the added visual dimension the handheld offers.

The cel-shaded visuals are crisp and gorgeous and this fifth iteration of the Layton franchise (but first on the 3DS) offers more of an actual gaming experience than previous outings. In short, this doesn’t feel like some kind of virtual interactive puzzle book.

Looking for clues in the 3D environments is more interactive than the tap-everything-till-you-find-the-clue approach of the four previous DS adventures.

Puzzles are the name of the game in Miracle mask.

Kids should find this game quite entertaining and the story and gameplay lends itself to short bursts rather than hour after hour of puzzle grinding.

Adults will also enjoy some of the brain teasers here. Writing this game off as a kid’s title doesn’t do it justice. Given how some brain training ‘games’ have become quite popular, think of Miracle Mask as the Pixar equivalent of a children’s movie. It’s much more nuanced than your typical kiddie title.

Wayne Chamberlain has covered the gaming industry since 2002. He writes features and reviews games for both Canada.com and Big Shiny Robot. Wayne is also the co-host of the Star Wars Book Report podcast... read more, available on iTunes.View author's profile